Americans report improved health, better healthcare: study

Americans are reporting improved health and better healthcare two years after health insurance became available under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study of more than 500,000 Americans found improvements in insurance coverage, access to primary care and prescription medicine, affordable healthcare and overall health since late 2013.

"Trends for these measures before the Affordable Care Act were significantly worsening for all outcomes," said Dr. Benjamin Sommers, who led the research as an adviser at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The law created exchanges that sell subsidized health insurance to all individuals regardless of their health.

Based on the study results, approximately 15.8 million adults gained coverage under the law, better known as Obamacare, said Sommers, who is now at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

About 7 million adults obtained a personal physician, about 4.8 million more adults can afford medicine, about 11 million more adults say healthcare is affordable and about 6.8 million more people consider themselves in excellent or very good health, he said.

The study analyzed results from the 2012-2015 Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index, a daily national telephone survey, to determine trends before and after the government expanded insurance.

The researchers observed the largest improvements among racial and ethnic minorities.

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Americans report improved health, better healthcare: study

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 15: A person walks into the UniVista Insurance company office where people are signing up for health care plans under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, on December 15, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Today, is the deadline to sign up for a plan under the Affordable Care Act for people that want to be insured on January 1, 2016. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama speaks about healthcare reforms and the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, during the Catholic Hospital Association Conference in Washington, DC, June 9, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: Supporters of the Affordable Care Act gather in front of the U.S Supreme Court during a rally March 4, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case of King v. Burwell that could determine the fate of health care subsidies for as many as eight million people. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Protestors hold placards challenging 'Obamacare' outside of the US Supreme Court on March 4, 2015 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court faces a momentous case Wednesday on the sweeping health insurance reform law that President Barack Obama wants to leave as part of his legacy. The question before the court is whether the seven million people or more who subscribed via the government's website can obtain tax subsidies that make the coverage affordable. A ruling is expected in June. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: Supporters of the Affordable Care Act gather in front of the U.S Supreme Court during a rally March 4, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case of King v. Burwell that could determine the fate of health care subsidies for as many as eight million people. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama speaks about healthcare reforms and the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, during the Catholic Hospital Association Conference in Washington, DC, June 9, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: Five-year-old James Cook of Cleveland, Ohio, participates in a rally to support the Affordable Care Act in front of the U.S Supreme Court March 4, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case of King v. Burwell that could determine the fate of health care subsidies for as many as eight million people. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: Supporters of the Affordable Care Act gather in front of the U.S Supreme Court during a rally March 4, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case of King v. Burwell that could determine the fate of health care subsidies for as many as eight million people. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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In a second analysis of low-income adults, the researchers found that expanding Medicaid under the law is linked to drops in the number of uninsured adults, fewer people without doctors and fewer people reporting difficulty in getting medicine.

About 30 states have used federal funds offered under the law to expand Medicaid coverage to individuals with incomes of up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

The researchers cautioned it was not clear the law directly improved health and healthcare access. A stronger economy, falling unemployment and other factors may have played a role.

"This is very consistent with what health policy experts predicted," said Dr. John Rowe, a health policy professor at the Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

"If you give people insurance, they use it," said Rowe, who was not involved with the new study. "And people who get more care do better than people who don't."

He said the remaining question is how the U.S. healthcare system will accommodate the increasing number of Americans with insurance, especially in light of a prediction that there will be a shortage of primary care doctors in the coming decade.